Hi Gary, So, then, the wireless network is considered to be a public network. Couldn't it still be used, then, so long as the traffic is encapsulated and encrypted? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary Nichols" To: Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2003 2:37 PM Subject: Re: HIPA and Network Configs > On Saturday, January 4, 2003, at 12:51 PM, Kevin Brown wrote: > > The company I now work for is still in the ramp-up phase and will be > > doing medical research and so there is some concern about how we can > > setup our network to link the various lab spaces that have been > > donated to us. > > > Only the HIPAA Privacy rule has been finalized, and you have until > April 14th to comply (unless you've filed for an extension). > The HIPAA Security rule has not been finalized yet. We were supposed > to see something around December 27th, but that was delayed... again. > I'd recommend you grab a copy of the proposed rule and do some reading. > > > The concerns are with allowing 802.11 wireless access to our network > > and using Wireless bridges to link up some labs that are near each > > other. Does anyone have any advice/pointers that could help? > > > > If you are pushing patient records or anything that is considered > Protected Health Information (check the rule for the definition of > PHI), wireless is NOT appropriate even with WEP. You may consider > doing a VPN across wireless devices, but I guarantee you that any > auditor worth his salt will still nail you to the wall on it because > 802.11x is not a government-approved transmission medium for secure > data. If you want more details, I can provide them. > > The proposed rule requires that any PHI traveling across a public > network or spectrum be encrypted with the current recommended > encryption standard. See the rule for details, too much to mention > here. > > As the ISO for $large_insurance_company, I can tell you that compliance > with the proposed security rule isn't hard - just requires a lot of > common sense, money and time. > > Good luck. > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss